Data and technology

Bridging the Gap between Gulf-based Fisheries and the Offshore Oil and Gas Industry

Analysis of artificial reefing areas will bring marine life benefits to the Gulf of Mexico. Opinions surrounding the oil industry are dynamic, complex and often controversial. However, there is one viewpoint that almost all fishers can agree on: some of the best fishing the Gulf of Mexico has to offer can be found around offshore […]

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Half the Ocean: Updating The Global Footprint of Fisheries

Global Fishing Watch’s updated fishing data offers new insight into the presence and behavior of the global fishing fleet In 2018, we published the first-ever global assessment of commercial fishing activity in Science. We tracked over 60,000 fishing vessels between 2012 and 2016, and estimated that fishing occurred on more than half of the ocean. 

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New Fishing Data Paves the Way for Improved Analysis

Improvements to our fishing effort data and vessel classification can help promote transparency of human activity on the world’s oceans In 2018, Global Fishing Watch released its first public fishing effort data that included almost 142 million hours of fishing from over 73,000 unique maritime mobile service identity (MMSI) numbers. The dataset, spanning 2012-2016, represented

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COVID-19 Brings Unmatched Downturn in Global Fishing Activity

One year into the pandemic that triggered turmoil around the world, an analysis of Global Fishing Watch data sheds light on shifts in global fishing activity  As the world marks the March 11th anniversary of the World Health Organization’s declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic, the fishing sector—like many industries—continues to feel the effects. With our

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Illegal fishing by dark fleets in north korea

A 2020 Analysis: Detecting the Dark Fleets in North Korea and Russia

Satellite technology reveals decline in illegal fishing activity in North Korean and Russian waters compared to previous years  In July 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic was sweeping across the globe, Global Fishing Watch published a groundbreaking scientific paper revealing one of the largest known cases of illegal fishing. The foreign fishing activity detected across 2017-19

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Tuna transshipment in the Indian Ocean

New Study Unveils Risk of Forced Labor in Fisheries

Researchers leverage satellite data, machine learning, and human rights expertise to develop model that determines risk of forced labor on fishing vessels https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5gWgYoR_rU In 2016 our research group at the Environmental Market Solutions Lab (emLab) was collaborating with a team of fisheries scientists and economists to better understand the economic rationale behind fishing on the

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Our Ocean Oslo 2019

2020 Hindsight: How a New Wave of Transparency Can Lead to Better Ocean Governance

Partnership and collective understanding will set the course for Global Fishing Watch’s work ahead And so ends another year—a year that many are perhaps eager to close out. I think it’s fair to say that none of us imagined 2020 would have panned out like this. Twelve months ago we were all preparing for a

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Transshipment Portal Shows Carrier Vessels Loitering in Waters off West Africa

Transshipment Portal Shows Carrier Vessels Loitering in Waters off West Africa

Tracking refrigerated cargo ships, commonly called reefers, can help address illegal fishing in the Gulf of Guinea Transshipment, or the transfer of fish from one vessel to another, is a vital part of the global commercial fishing industry. It touches a wide variety of seafood products, from bigeye and skipjack tuna all the way to

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Mediterranean Sea International Space Station Italy Europe Preview

Spotting Transshipment with an Ocean of AIS Data

Find out how Global Fishing Watch’s carrier vessel portal promotes ocean sustainability by tracking transshipment with the help of AIS data This article was produced and first published by our data partner, Spire Global. Global Fishing Watch created a new tool using Spire Global’s AIS data to shine a light on transshipment—a critical process of high seas

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Blue whales

Global Fishing Watch Data Reveals Ships Speed through Endangered Whale Habitat

When we click ‘buy’ online or check out at a retail store, we don’t often think about massive ships moving our products across the ocean. Yet we are all connected to the marine shipping industry by the goods we use every day. As the connectors of the global economy, cargo ships move up to 90

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Chinese lighting vessels

International Cooperation Uncovers Large-Scale Illegal Fishing, Highlights Need for More Multinational Efforts

Experts from four countries joined forces to find out the real cause behind drastic decline in squid catch   A Global Fishing Watch-led study uncovers what is possibly the largest ever documented case of illegal fishing by vessels originating from one country operating in another nation’s waters, leading to significant ramifications. The story behind the research

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Illegal fishing by dark fleets in north korea

New Technology Unveils Massive Illegal Fishing by Dark Fleets in North Korea, What Next?

International collaboration and new technology shows unprecedented picture of fishing activity in North Korea, calls on nations to take action In the 30th issue of Science Advances Global Fishing Watch, along with 13 other co-authors, published a study revealing widespread illegal fishing in North Korean waters across 2017 and 2018. Hundreds of large, industrial vessels

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aerial vessel

Illuminating global fishing activity with satellite AIS

This article was produced and first published by our data partner, Spire Global. Transparency in a whole new light In February this year, a Vietnamese ship entered Indonesian waters, likely fished illegally, and then returned to port without consequence. By March, it was back at sea. There were no signs to indicate that the vessel

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fishing data

Track and trace: transparent and digitized fishing data is crucial to ocean resilience

Recovery from COVID-19 will require greater transparency in commercial fishing activity As the global COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold, its myriad negative consequences are slowly becoming clearer. While many of the impacts have been unmistakable, with entire countries locked down, some are playing out far away from our homes and shorelines, in the open ocean. 

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